Kochi, 01 November(HS): Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday declared Kerala as free of “Extreme Poverty. The declaration was made by the chief minister in the specially convened session of the Legislative Assembly, and that too as the day marked the 69th anniversary of the formation of the State of Kerala by merging Travancore, Kochi and Malabar provinces on 1st November 1956.
The merger of these provinces was part of the reorganization of the more than 500 princely territories ruled by Kings, Nawabs and Maharajas. The reorganisation of the princely States was the result of the great work done by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, former Deputy Prime Minister of India.
But the solemnity of the occasion was lost as the Congress-led opposition parties walked out of the Legislative Assembly even before the Chief Minister got up from his chair to make the declaration.
“This is nothing but cheating the people of the State. Kerala is still enmeshed in poverty as there are millions of people going to bed without getting at least two square meals a day,” said V D Satheeshan, leader of the Opposition before walking out of the House shouting slogans against the LDF Government.
Later, speaking to reporters, Satheeshan pointed out that Saturday’s newspapers featured full-page advertisements claiming Kerala ends extreme poverty. “The chief minister and finance minister accuse the Centre for not releasing funds meant for the State. They also say that the treasury has gone kaput. A Government which has miserably failed in releasing the pension for old people under the pretext of cash shortage has spent crores of rupees on these advertisements,” said Satheeshan. He also said that even on Saturday morning, there were reports in the dailies about deaths due to poverty.
Later in the day, the Chief Minister has convened a public meeting at Chandrasekharan Nair stadium to declare the Extreme Poverty Free State. It was a star-studded show with Malayalam film's mega star Mammootty, Mohan Lal and global actors like Prakash Albert Raj and Kamal Haasan MP in attendance.
Hindusthan Samachar / Manohar Yadavatti
